Author Archives: philipbrasor

Inerasable (Zan’e)

Posted on January 29, 2016 by philipbrasor

In Japan, real estate agents are by law required to inform potential renters or buyers of murders or suicides that occurred in properties under consideration, though if someone died there of natural causes no one has to say anything. In … Continue reading →

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Review: 5 Flights Up

Posted on January 27, 2016 by philipbrasor

It must be contractually mandated that every movie in which Morgan Freeman appears he has to provide folksy voiceover narration. He does it in this bittersweet domestic drama, though there isn’t a whole lot of need for it. The situation … Continue reading →

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Review: 99 Homes

Posted on January 26, 2016 by philipbrasor

As the Oscar nominations for The Big Short testify, the 2008 economic collapse continues to provide raw meat for heavy-duty dramas, as well as comedies of the blackest sort. 99 Homes gets down to the bone of the matter, since … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 24, 2016

Posted on January 24, 2016 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the recent tabloid coverage of Becky and SMAP. The headline chosen by JT is perhaps misleading in that it conflates the two “scandals” along the same lines, but if you read the column you … Continue reading →

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Review: Son of Saul

Posted on January 22, 2016 by philipbrasor

A winner at Cannes and favored contender for the best foreign language film Oscar this year, Laszlo Nemes’s debut feature is both formally audacious and thematically provocative, so much so on both counts that it’s difficult to absorb all the … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 10, 2016

Posted on January 10, 2016 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, about the recent Supreme Court decision on separate names and its potential effect on the legalization of same-sex marriages. In the column I pointed out that the majority of the judges on the court ruled … Continue reading →

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Best albums of 2015

Posted on December 31, 2015 by philipbrasor

In a word, this was a great year for hip-hop, as evidenced by the worldwide acclaim for To Pimp a Butterfly, a record I listened to a lot, and the only reason it didn’t land on this list was probably … Continue reading →

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Best movies of 2015

Posted on December 30, 2015 by philipbrasor

I don’t know if I saw fewer movies this year than last or more, and I don’t feel like counting to find out. For sure, there were a few I wanted to see that I didn’t, like Phoenix, which made … Continue reading →

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January 2016 albums

Posted on December 30, 2015 by philipbrasor

Here are the album reviews I wrote for the January issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on Christmas Day. Product -Sophie (Numbers/Beat) Communion -Years & Years (Interscope/Universal) Pop music continues to evolve despite isolated gripes about how … Continue reading →

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January 2016 movies

Posted on December 29, 2015 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the January issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on Christmas Day. About Ray Gaby Dellal’s bittersweet comedy assumes so many edgy POVs that it feels drained of meaning, with … Continue reading →

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